Word: kufrovich
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...memoir, Katie.com (Dutton; 196 pages; $19.95), Tarbox explains in simple but revealing prose how she had come to see the man who claimed to be just 23 and called himself Mark (his real name turned out to be Frank Kufrovich) as her best friend and soul mate. "He cared about me," she writes. "He listened to my feelings... And he always supported me with encouragement and advice." In contrast, "home was a place where I always felt alone." Alienated from her workaholic mother, she had only one other friend and hated her grueling workouts on a nationally ranked swim team...
While Tarbox tends to overexplain herself, leaving little room for nuance, Katie.com is nonetheless an impressive work that reveals not just the danger of online pedophilia but also the tormented psyche of a young teen who seemed to have it all. Although Kufrovich eventually spent 18 months in jail, Tarbox remained racked with guilt about turning him in. It was only her even stronger guilt over not telling the truth that led her to admit to the molestation. In a classic case of blaming the victim, Tarbox was then characterized by her family, friends and town as a promiscuous teen...
...book. "I thought Katie just wanted to be aloof and more independent," she says, denying any blame on her part. As Tarbox writes, however, "Every girl says she is doing fine. But if you just spend the time, you might hear the rest of the story." Only Kufrovich, it seems, was willing to do that...
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